Alaska Robotics to take on the Legislature

Posted: October 31, 2013 - 10:28am

Sick and tired of all the grim news coverage of the Alaska Legislature? Alaska Robotics may have the answer. The filmmakers who brought you such political satire as “Buy back Alaska,” “Buy Back America,” “Sarah Palin - Relatively Awesome” and “Frank Murkowski - A Tribute” are raising funds via Kickstarter to bring Alaska a satire news series during the 2014 legislative session.

“I think political satire is incredibly important,” Pat Race said in a promotional video for their Kickstarter campaign. “It’s the only reason I know anything about anything.”

Race said he grew up on satire like Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update and skits, loves Monty Python and thinks the Daily Show is incredible. Along with cohorts Aaron Suring and Lou Logan, Race encourages anyone who would love to see a satirical look at Alaska’s 2014 legislative session to consider donating to the campaign.

“Think of it as a localized Daily Show or Weekend Update,” the Kickstarter page, kickstarter.com/projects/patrace/alaska-robotics-news, reads.

If you’re worried the Robotics crew won’t play fair, don’t: “No one gets immunity. We’re taking on both sides of the aisle and plan to tackle a wide range of issues,” according to the Kickstarter page.

Each episode will be 3-7 minutes in length and will include a mix of current events, special guests and craziness from around the state, they promise. Their funding goals are $3,000 for three episodes (one per month), $8,000 for six episodes (two per month), or $20,000 for 12 episodes (one per week) during the legislative session.

By visiting the Kickstarter page or alaskarobotics.com, you can watch past short films, including the satire previously mentioned, but including “Tea Party Animal” and “Legislative Update 2013,” but also their non-political films, including the recent Marian Call music video “Good Morning Moon,” “Socks,” and profiles of Kes Woodward and Teri Rofkar. The Kickstarter page also includes information about how crowdfunding works and benefits of pledging. The crew has nearly reached their $3,000 goal with an overall deadline of Nov. 22.